An even lighter and slightly more powerful Exige has once again rolled off the Lotus production line. Officially called the Exige Cup 380, the V6-powered sports car improves upon the Exige Sport 380 and has improved weight-saving and aerodynamics.

Lotus was able to shed more weight on the Exige Cup 380 by extensively using carbon fiber throughout the bodywork. The front splitter, front access panel, roof, large side air-intakes, tailgate, rear wing and diffuser are all made from the light yet durable composite. Not only that, the carbon fiber goodies also allowed the the Exige Cup 380 to generate 200 kg of downforce at 282 km/h. This equates to a 40-percent increase over the Exige Sport 380's maximum downforce.

Curb weight is at 1,057 kg, making it 53 kg lighter than the Exige Sport 380. For those that want the car to be more lightweight, an optional titanium exhaust system can be specified which removes about 10 kg on the rear axle. Beyond that, the Exige Cup 380 can be had with several extras like: FIA compliant roll cage, full racing harness, electrical cut-off switch and fire extinguisher controls.

Providing extra grip are wider 285/30/ZR18 rear tires courtesy of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2. The front, on the other hand, sits on 215/45/R17 tires. Behind the wheels and tires are AP Racing forged two-piece disc brakes that come with four-piston brake calipers. Helping the car handle the tight corners are the two-way adjustable dampers from Nitron and the Eibach adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars.

Inside, the Exige Cup 380 gets carbon fiber trim all around that comes with visible-weave. The racing seats and door sills are also made from the lightweight material to further bring down the car's overall weight.

Powering the Exige Cup 380 is the supercharged 3.5-liter V6 that pushes out 380 PS at 6700 rpm along with 410 Nm of torque at 5000 rpm. It then sends power to the rear wheels via a close-ratio 6-speed manual gearbox. 0 – 100 km/h comes in at a quick 3.4 seconds, 0.1 second quicker than the Exige Sport 380. Top speed, on the other had is rated at 282 km/h.

The electronic stability program (ESP) can be set to four modes; Drive, Sport, Race and Off. The last three modes of the ESP enhances throttle response, lowers traction thresholds and reduces understeer. It even has a variable traction control system which is linked directly to the ECU and will come with a wheel slip adjuster.